


Morytha

by KawaiiBoushi



Category: Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (Video Game)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-10
Updated: 2018-04-10
Packaged: 2019-04-21 06:40:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,274
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14279217
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KawaiiBoushi/pseuds/KawaiiBoushi
Summary: Pandoria wakes up in a strange place, alone, with only one goal - find her prince.





	Morytha

Pandoria was no stranger to falls from towering heights, but the experience was nonetheless always far from welcome. Still, that ache coursing through her body, the fact that it was familiar, told her the only thing that was important right now: Zeke was alive.

“My prince?” With a groan, she uncurled from the fetal position she had woken up in. “Are you okay?”

No answer. From anyone, for that matter. Maybe everyone else was still unconscious. “Prince?” Pushing herself to her knees, Pandoria took in her surroundings. She was outside, in what looked like the dilapidated ruins of an ancient city – and she was completely alone.

“My prince!” She leapt to her feet, blood running cold. Far above, a storm was rumbling, thunder echoing throughout the empty streets. “ _Zeke!_ ”

“Pandoria? Is that you?”

It wasn’t her prince’s voice, but Pandoria whirled around, hope rising in her chest. Across from her, Dromarch hopped over a pile of rubble, looking around the area.

“Dromarch!” Pandoria ran to the other Blade’s side, tripping over herself and landing on her hands and knees. Ignoring the sting of her scraped palms, she sat up and clutched at his fur. “Is my prince with you?”

Scowling, he took a step back, detangling himself from her grip. “I’m afraid not. You’re the first one I’ve seen since we landed…wherever here is. And my lady…?”

Shoulders slumping, Pandoria sighed. “I haven’t seen anyone else either. I just woke up here by myself.”

Dromarch took a moment to groom the fur that she had ruffled. “Well. We are both alive, so our Drivers must be as well. We simply need to find them.”

“But –” Pandoria wrapped her arms around herself, unable to help imagining a million ways Zeke could be coming to harm. “He could be hurt. He could be hurt _bad_. I could go back to my core crystal and forget everything any second now – what if –?”

“They’re _fine_. Your prince _and_ my lady.” Dromarch’s voice was a low growl, catching Pandoria off guard. She stared at him for a moment before biting her lip and nodding. Of course Dromarch was just as worried about his Driver as she was hers. Sitting around talking like this wasn’t going to accomplish anything.

“Y-yeah.” She forced a smile, shakily standing up. “Wherever they are, we’ll find them. It’s faint, but I can sense the other half of my core crystal, so my prince must be here too. Maybe he’s with Nia and the others.”

Dromarch furrowed his brow. “Are you able to tell its precise location?”

“I don’t know.” Gripping her left arm with the other hand, Pandoria closed her eyes in concentration. “When we’re together, I can feel the ether in his half if I focus on it. But I’ve never had to pinpoint him from far away like this. I can try…”

She fell silent, letting her breathing fall into sync with the flow of ether around her. It felt ancient, and somehow foreboding, but she cast her senses out into it in search of her prince. The howling wind around her began to fade away as Pandoria focused, the vague awareness of her core crystal’s presence sharpening into something more tangible. Zeke’s heartbeat, heightened, sending out faint pulses of ether she could just detect. It tugged on her from within, a sensation not quite physical, leading her to her prince.

“I think…” Opening her eyes, Pandoria turned around, pointing in the direction she had felt Zeke from. In the distance, beyond more hills of rubble and debris, was a large building that had long since begun to collapse. “I think he’s somewhere over there. I don’t know if anyone else is with him, though.”

Nodding once, Dromarch began to walk. “It’s a start. Let’s go.”

Pandoria took the lead and the two Blades began their trek. The building, even in its ramshackle state, was taller than anything she had ever seen elsewhere on Alrest. It was hard to judge how far away it was, and Pandoria couldn’t tell if the reading she had on Zeke was getting any closer as they travelled. She tried not to think that she was only imagining it to begin with.

“What does it feel like?” Dromarch’s voice broke the silence between them after a few minutes.

Pandoria looked down at him, tipping her head to the side. “Huh?”

“Your core crystal,” he clarified. “It being split in two.”

“Oh. That.” Humming thoughtfully, Pandoria clasped her hands behind her back. “I mean, normal, most of the time. Like, I’m not constantly aware of my core crystal if I’m not thinking about it, right? But even when I do, it doesn’t necessarily feel like anything is missing. It’s still there, just…somewhere else. Which is usually pretty close to me anyway. I guess it’s kinda weird being able to feel it when it’s not part of me anymore, but…” She shrugged, tracing a finger over the edge of her half of her crystal. “It’s nice, actually. When I do concentrate on it, I can feel his heartbeat as if it’s happening inside my core. My ether energy is keeping him alive, and I can _feel_ that life, and…maybe it’s silly, but I like to think that it’s my heartbeat too. In a way, I feel more whole now than I ever did before.”

There was a lull in the conversation as they carefully crossed a long metal beam that precariously bridged a gaping hole in the road. Once both were safely on the other side, Dromarch mused, “I’m almost jealous of you. If my lady needed it, I would, without hesitation, do the same that you did, but…we are a unique case. Perhaps even more so than you and your prince. A Flesh Eater, bonded with another Blade…I doubt whether any amount of my core crystal could make a difference if she were mortally wounded.”

Pandoria pursed her lips. “I hope we never have to find out.”

“Indeed,” Dromarch sighed.

Silence fell once more as they continued, Pandoria nervously fidgeting with the bow on her jacket. Normally, storms didn’t bother her – on the contrary, the way their electricity mingled with the ether in the air tended to make her feel energized. The weather here, however, only put her on edge. Everything about this strange place did, for that matter. She couldn’t shake the feeling that someone or something would attack them at any minute.

And yet, the fact that nothing did, even after walking for almost an hour, was unnerving. Were there no other living creatures here? They hadn’t come across so much as a rodent skittering along the street yet, much less any of their comrades. Pandoria tried to squelch the fear creeping in the back of her mind, focusing instead on Zeke’s core crystal. As they made their way further through the barren cityscape, the ether she could feel from him had undeniably been getting stronger, a beacon of hope keeping her moving.

“He’s close.” When they had nearly reached the derelict building, Pandoria stopped, casting her gaze around the area. There was nothing she could see but more wreckage, but somewhere just beyond that, she knew her prince was waiting. “Really close!” Throwing caution to the wind, she broke out into a run, wanting to close the distance between them as quickly as possible.

“Pandoria, be careful!” Dromarch shouted after her, quickening his pace to keep up. She paid him no mind, however, especially now that she could swear she could hear yelling nearby. Barely managing not to trip over a pile of rocks, she barreled around the corner of a smaller building that was still standing, heading for the source of the noise.

As soon as she made it to the other side, Pandoria was greeted by the sight of half a dozen strange humanoid creatures, gathered with their backs to her in a semi-circle in front of a metal fence. Guttural screeches came from them as they slashed their arms through the air, almost drowning out the sound of Zeke’s unmistakable wordless shouts of exertion.

“My prince!” Pandoria raced as fast as her legs would carry her, and through the gaps between the monsters that separated her from her prince she could see his sword begin to glow from her proximity.

“Ultimate Lightning Fury Slash – _MAX!_ ” With a great flash of electricity, three of the creatures flew backwards, revealing Zeke standing tall, sword raised above his head. There were multiple bloody gashes on his chest and arms, and his breathing was heavy, but he grinned when he saw her, eye alight with fighting spirit. “Well, well, look who took their sweet time getting here.”

With an exaggerated sigh, Pandoria took her spot at his side, feeling immediately revitalized from the ether link forming between them. “I swear, I can’t take my eyes off of you for even one minute, my prince.”

“What would I –” Grunting, he dodged a swipe from one of the monsters, returning its attack with one of his own. “– do without you, Pandy?”

“I hate to interrupt your reunion, but I take it Brighid is not with you?”

Pandoria jumped a little at the sound of Morag’s voice. As focused as she was on her prince, she didn’t even notice the woman standing a few feet away, furiously lashing out at two other monsters with her whip swords. “No, it’s just me and Dromarch. I’m sorry.”

“Dammit,” Morag hissed, scowling at Pandoria’s response. While her attacks were striking true and fierce, her weapons didn’t seem to be doing as much damage as usual without Brighid’s power.

Zeke, meanwhile, was fighting with a renewed vigor, sparks flying from his sword with every slash. He laughed triumphantly as he fired off an Overload Thunder Beam that took out two of the monsters. “We’ve got ‘em on the ropes now, guys! Pandy!” Without even turning around, he tossed his sword up in the air behind him. “This one’s all you!”

Effortlessly catching the enormous weapon, Pandoria thrust it into the ground before pulling her staff from its hilt. “You got it, Prince! _Lightning Force!_ ” She lifted the staff up above her head, channeling her ether energy into it. Her arms and legs flashed blue in their characteristic pattern as two powerful bolts of electricity shot from the end of her staff, striking the remaining monsters and causing them to shriek in pain.

Weakened as they were from Pandoria’s attack, it was mere minutes after Zeke retrieved his weapon and leapt back into the fray that the last of the strange creatures fell to their onslaught. As soon as it had given its final dying screech and the air was quiet and still once more, Zeke dropped to one knee, propping himself up with his sword. He held one hand to his chest, drawing ragged breaths.

“Prince Zeke!” Pandoria fell to her knees next to him, gripping his arm. “Are you alright?”

He tried to smile at her, but only managed a grimace. “I’m fine. Would’ve been a lot worse if you hadn’t shown up when you did.”

Unconvinced, Pandoria looked over her shoulder at Dromarch, who had just come out of hiding now that the fight was over. “Can you heal him?”

The other Blade approached them, nodding. “I apologize for not being able to aid you in battle. My powers are not as strong without my lady’s presence, but I can at least alleviate some of his wounds. You too, Lady Morag.”

“Thank you, Dromarch,” she replied, moving closer to the others. She didn’t have as many visible injuries as Zeke but was clutching at her torso with a pained look on her face.

Once they had formed a small circle, a wave of healing ether washed over the group, and Pandoria watched as Zeke’s cuts began to stitch themselves together, leaving behind only faint marks where they once were. His expression cleared immediately, and he grinned at Dromarch. “Thanks, mate. I feel loads better now.”

When she was sure her prince was healed, Pandoria threw her arms around his waist, burying her face in his chest. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”

“Of course I am.” Holding her close, Zeke stood up, pressing a quick kiss to the top of her head. “I made a promise, didn’t I?” They stayed like that for a minute until Morag softly cleared her throat.

“We ought not to dawdle,” she said, staring pointedly at the fallen skyscraper. “If there are any other monsters in the vicinity, their attention has likely been drawn to us. Even with Pandoria and Dromarch here now, that only makes one full Driver-Blade team, with very limited healing. I don’t like our chances if we were to get into another fight like that.”

Zeke stepped back, giving Pandoria’s arm a squeeze as he turned to face the building before them as well. “Yeah. We should get out of here, maybe find somewhere safe to rest up proper for a while. Then we pick back up looking for the others. I reckon we’re bound to run into them sooner or later if we keep moving.”

“Agreed,” Dromarch put in with a nod. “The faster we are all reunited, the better.”

Pandoria gripped Zeke’s hand, feeling a rush of confidence as he laced his fingers with hers. This wasteland didn’t feel quite so bleak anymore now that she was facing it with her prince. Together again, they could do anything. They would find all their friends, fight off any monsters that dared crossed their path. Face setting in determination, Pandoria threw her free hand in the air.

“Onward!”

**Author's Note:**

> And another fandom bites the dust of my terrible fic names. Anyway, just something that came to mind talking to a friend about headcanons and stuff.


End file.
